Don't Clean Out Your Fridge to Eat Healthier

Don't Clean Out Your Fridge to Eat Healthier

#healthyeatingmadesimple #healthyeatingtips #saynotodiets anti-inflammatory diet Aug 01, 2022

One of the bad habits and mindsets I’m trying to reverse that all these fad diets have created is the “clean out your fridge and start from scratch” mindset with the foods in our kitchen. 

In my 6+ years of teaching healthy eating, that is one thing I discourage. When we empty our kitchen of all the foods we love and replace them with a bunch of “healthy” foods, we set ourselves up for failure. 

Setting yourself up for failure

When someone starts a new diet or a fad method of eating, we start like gangbusters; like the racing horses at the starting line. We go to the store and buy all new foods and ingredients and decide “this is the moment I am going to change”. 

The reason behind this idea is decided with great intentions. Wanting to be healthier and do better is a great first step. It really is. I would say that is the biggest step. It’s maintaining the consistency that becomes the challenge. 

As I have taught hundreds of others about a healthier approach to eating, I have learned that small steps are where the success lies. Small ones. Tiny ones. Starting small, 1 change at a time, is going to show lasting results. It doesn’t matter if you are trying to lose weight, get your blood sugar under control, try to get off some of your prescription drugs, or just want to be healthy. The success in all of these begins and ends with very small steps.

We begin to see positive results when we approach it day by day, meal by meal…one change at a time. Eating healthy and living a healthier lifestyle is a journey. It is a life-long journey that is ever-changing. There is no ultimate destination. Of course, there may be goals like “lower my cholesterol levels” or “lose some belly fat”, but it’s something which we must always keep working toward. 

I began my journey in 2014, and I am confident when I say I’m still learning, tweaking, and improving. 

Start with one thing

Make one new choice today and practice that for a bit. Here’s an example of something that worked for me and my husband after his heart attack:

When Neil almost died (if you are new to reading my blogs, yes, my husband almost died in 2014 from a massive heart attack at the age of 41), I decided to go to school and learn a holistic way of living a healthier life. From what we were eating to what we were washing our clothes in. It was a rude awakening; one I am so grateful for today.

During school, I learned how inflammatory dairy can be. I also learned that inflammation is also one of the reasons my husband had a heart attack. So, logically I put 2 and 2 together and said “let’s give up dairy for a while and see what happens”. 

That’s all we did. I didn’t clean out the fridge from gluten or beef. All I did was eliminate dairy from our diets. I’m going to be real honest with you. It was a rough go. I had NO idea how much dairy we were actually consuming. And when we gave it up, I quickly realized how much inflammation we were feeding our bodies.

3 weeks after completely eliminating dairy, we began to see big changes. All of my little symptoms went away. I had symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, dull headaches, and stomach cramps. I had these my entire life so I thought it was “just how I was built”. Giving up an inflammatory food changed my quality of life. 

That is just one example of a “one step at a time” approach.

And when you can see the small changes or positive results from one change, it becomes a snowball effect. You begin chasing the feel-good. You want to keep feeling good so you begin to make another change, and then another one.  

And those “bad foods” that I didn’t throw away all at once? They ended up expiring or I slowly discarded them and replaced them with better options.

You don’t know you don’t feel good until you actually feel good. 

You don’t know what it’s like to NOT have brain fog…until you don’t have brain fog. 

So, if you are reading this and you know things need to change in your life or in a family member's food choices, you have come to the right place. My little corner of the web is a place of encouragement and a place you will not be judged. It’s a place full of positivity and grace. 

Each day is a fresh start.

Each day you can choose to start a new healthy habit and practice that habit until you master it and are ready for the next one. 

So, don’t go clean out your pantry or fridge and start some tedious diet plan. Start small. Maybe vow to drink 60 oz of water tomorrow. Or maybe you will cook 2 meals this week instead of ordering takeout. Whatever it is, show yourself love and support and ditch the shame when you slip up.  

If you haven’t done so, be sure to follow me on social media. It’s a great place to learn new things in a positive way. You will feel like I’m hugging you and feeding you all at the same time. 

I’ll leave you with this question. What small step are you going to take tomorrow?

 

Xoxo,

 




Stay connected with news and updates!

Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.
Don't worry, your information will not be shared.

We hate SPAM. We will never sell your information, for any reason.